Course: Classroom Management (6403) Semester: Autumn, 2021 Level: ADE/B.Ed
ASSIGNMENT No. 1
Q.1 Define Classroom management. Discuss in detail the importance of Classroom management.
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Classroom management refers to the wide variety of skills and techniques that teachers use to keep students organized, orderly, focused, attentive, on task, and academically productive during a class.
Classroom Management is a term teachers use to describe the process of ensuring that classroom lessons run smoothly without disruptive behavior from students compromising the delivery of instruction. The term also implies the prevention of disruptive behavior preemptively, as well as effectively responding to it after it happens.
It is a difficult aspect of teaching for many teachers. Problems in this area causes some to leave teaching. In 1981, the US National Educational Association reported that 36% of teachers said they would probably not go into teaching if they had to decide again. A major reason was negative student attitudes and discipline.[1]
Classroom management is crucial in classrooms because it supports the proper execution of curriculum development, developing best teaching practices, and putting them into action. Classroom management can be explained as the actions and directions that teachers use to create a successful learning environment; indeed, having a positive impact on students achieving given learning requirements and goals (Soheili, Alizadeh, Murphy, Bajestani, Ferguson and Dreikurs). In an effort to ensure all students receive the best education it would seem beneficial for educator programs to spend more time and effort in ensuring educators and instructors are well versed in classroom management.
Teachers do not focus on learning classroom management, because higher education programs do not put an emphasis on the teacher attaining classroom management; indeed, the focus is on creating a conducive learning atmosphere for the students (Eisenman, Edwards, and Cushman). These tools enable teachers to have the resources available to properly and successfully educate upcoming generations, and ensure future successes as a nation. According to Moskowitz & Hayman (1976), once a teacher loses control of their classroom, it becomes increasingly more difficult for them to regain that control.[2]
Also, research from Berliner (1988) and Brophy & Good (1986) shows that the time a teacher must take to correct misbehavior caused by poor classroom management skills results in a lower rate of academic engagement in the classroom.[3] From the student’s perspective, effective classroom management involves clear communication of behavioral and academic expectations as well as a cooperative learning environment.
Effective classroom management is necessary for all teachers and facilitators. Classroom management involves all aspects of what is going on in the classroom while a lesson is being taught. Not only does classroom management include how the teacher or facilitator delivers the curriculum, but also how the students interact with the teacher and with others in the classroom, and extends into the classroom environment in which students learn as well. Students cannot learn in chaos. Classroom management includes elements of classroom discipline, but focuses more on creating a peaceful learning environment that is comfortable, organized, engaging, and respectful for both the teacher and the students.
One of the main goals of education is to promote life-long learning. Thus, education should be able to motivate individuals to continue learning throughout their lives, even outside the classroom.
So, as a teacher, you should be striving to enhance the development of life-long learning among your students. There is evidence in education literature that supports the idea that classroom management plays a key role in helping teachers to achieve optimal learning in their classrooms.
In light of this, I think it is important for us to assess the importance of effective management of students’ classroom behavior.
To do an appropriate analysis, it is essential to look at the importance of classroom management to the teacher, the student, and the rest of the stakeholders of education. This way you will be able to understand the trickle-down benefits of effective management of the classroom from the teacher to the entire society.
Importance of Effective Classroom Management to the Teacher
Teachers consider pupils’ behavior management as one of the top stressors in their profession. For example, Richard Ingersoll (2001) found that approximately 30% of the 400 who left the teaching profession cited pupil management as one of the reasons why they gave up, in a study of approximately 6700 teachers in the United States.
An earlier study by David Chan (1998) revealed that teachers rated pupil behavior management as the second most stressful factor for teachers, in a survey of 400 teachers on what stresses them. You can check here to see why classroom management is so hard for some teachers.
- It helps create a conducive learning environment
If you have exceptional strategies to help you manage your classroom effectively, then these strategies will help you create an enabling and conducive environment for your students to learn effectively. For example, Daniel Goleman said that;
“The Responsive Classroom approach creates an ideal environment for learning–every teacher should know about it.”
That is to say that your classroom management skills can help you to create a favorable environment that will make all your students have a sense of belongingness so that they will feel free to explore more learning opportunities within the boundaries and standards established by collaborated efforts between you and your students.
This is possible if you have a well-thought-out plan to manage the behavior of your students and your classroom.
On the other hand, if you don’t have a plan in place to manage your lessons and the behavior of your students in the classroom, there will be chaos which makes your classroom environment not suitable for effective learning.
In this environment, your students will learn much lesser than they could if you had managed the classroom effectively.
Find our strategies on how to handle students you don’t like here.
- It helps avoid waste of time and energy
You need a proper classroom management strategy to guide all things that happen in the classroom within the day. It is often helpful to pre-plan your lesson taking into account classroom management issues such that possible misbehaviors during the lesson will not limit you from helping your students to effectively grasp what you are going to teach.
That is to say, before a student puts up behavior in your class during a lesson, your plan of managing the class can help you to quickly deal with that behavior and move on with the lesson.
Reflecting and embarking on the planning processes for your classroom management will always be extremely helpful in removing almost all disruptions in your class. Remember your classroom management planning will vary across different classes.
For example, it is always appropriate to do careful planning on how to manage a class if you have disruptive students in that class. Else you will waste all the lesson period trying to control and manage the behavior of one or a few of the students while the majority do not learn much.
Q.2 Discuss the importance of cultural background in teaching learningg process.
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Q.3 Define learning environment. Discuss major components for creating safe and connected shool climate.
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Q.4 Elaborate the principles for the establishment of rules and routines for classroom management.
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